Cherry Coconut Bars

Look no further than these Cherry Coconut Bars for a festive addition to your holiday baking trays. Neon red maraschino cherries and the golden top make these sweet treats say “celebrate”.

Shortbread Base:
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
½ cup butter, room temperature
3 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar

Topping:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup granulated cane sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½ cup maraschino cherries, chopped
¾ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Butter a 9x9″ baking pan. If you wish, you can then line it with parchment paper and then butter that as well (extending the paper slightly past the top of the pan makes it easy to lift the entire batch from the pan before slicing).

For the Shortbread Base:
Mix flour, butter and icing sugar until well incorporated. Spread and pat into the prepared pan and bake for about 15 minutes, or until set and lightly coloured.

For the Topping and Finishing:
Stir the rest of the topping ingredients into the beaten eggs. Spread over top of the baked pastry base and bake another 22-25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.

Let cool in the pan and then cut into bars the size of your choosing.

Makes 30 bars (fewer if cut larger).